1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gloves. More particularly, the present invention relates to a glove used by professional bartenders in tending bar.
2. Discussion of Background
Gloves for purposes other than keeping hands warm are well known as article of manufacture. Furthermore, gloves having a tool or other device attached to the palm or top of the glove are not new. Many different types of devices have been attached to a glove or partial glove for a number of reasons, including carrying convenience and use, hand protection, and the like.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,294,997, Merrion discloses a glove equipped with a tool carrier in the palm of the glove. Similarly, Morrow, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,912, describes a glove with an attachment for holding a toothbrush and other instruments of the kind, preferably for use by injured or physically handicapped persons having difficulty operating or manipulating their hands.
Several gloves have attachments for carrying convenience while walking or jogging. Butcher (U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,980) and Wallace (U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,121) both describe a glove having a palm area equipped to carry a means of protection, such as a can of mace or tear gas. Similarly, Guthrie et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,706, describe a glove, worn by joggers, that can carry weights in the palm and on the back of the glove.
Taylor, in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,867, describes a glove having a pencil holder on the back of the glove or top of the hand area. The pencil or other writing instrument is simply removed from the holder by the opposite hand when needed for use, and subsequently inserted back into the holder after use.
Specialized gloves for use by bartenders are also known in the art. For instance, Crafts (U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,238) describes a glove equipped with a bottle cap opener that twists off crown caps and is attached directly in the palm area of the glove. In use, the bartender places the crown cap into a recess formed in a thickened portion of the palm that engages the cap and enables the bartender to twist the cap. The cap protects the palm of a bartender and eliminates the need to pick up a bottle opener since the opener is incorporated into the glove.
Another similar device used especially by bartenders is disclosed by Walker, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,866. The glove has a leather gripping area between the forefinger, thumb, and the juncture there between for twisting caps of bottles to remove them. The partial glove fits over the thumb and forefinger, and fastens around the wrist with an adjustable band.
Beverages sold at bars comes in a variety of containers with different types of closures. Typically, beer comes in bottles with crown caps. Some crown caps can be opened by twisting and are called twist-off caps. All crown caps can be removed by leveraging. Other bottles such as liquor bottles, both full size and so-called "mini-bottles" required by some state governments, have threaded caps that are removable by twisting them off. Beverages such as beer and soft drinks are typically sold in cans with tab openers that are pried up and back away from the can to open a small hole in the can top.
Despite the existence of bartender's gloves for twisting off bottle caps, it is believed that no glove for bartenders provides a more convenient method for prying off both twist off and non-twist off bottle caps and opening cans with tab openers.